An Organ-on-Chip Platform for Strain-Controlled, Tissue-Specific Compression of Cartilage and Mineralized Osteochondral Interface to Study Mechanical Overloading in Osteoarthritis.

ABSTRACT: Altered joint loading due to articular malalignment, instability, or trauma is an important risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent musculoskeletal disease worldwide. However, the molecular links between aberrant mechanics and OA initiation/progression remain unclear due to the lack of human models capturing the interplay of joint tissues in a mechanically active environment. Replicating the strain gradient across the osteochondral interface remains an unmet challenge. Here, an OsteoChondral Unit (OCU)-on-Chip platform is engineered and functionally validated where composite hyaline cartilage-mineralized subchondral microtissues are exposed to strain-controlled, tissue-specific compression levels akin, respectively, to those of cartilage and of the mineralized tissue at the

SUBMITTER: Mainardi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12417778 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature